


Miraculous

by healing



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: M/M, Miraculous Ladybug AU, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 15:06:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5009359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/healing/pseuds/healing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since time immemorial, the presence of ladybugs has been linked with luck, protection, and fulfillment of desires.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Miraculous

**Author's Note:**

  * For [diarahan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/diarahan/gifts).



> A silly, ridiculous, and self-indulgent Miraculous Ladybug AU based on a random what-if conversation with Chels.
> 
> For context: _Set in modern-day Paris, the series focuses on a teen junior high school girl named Marinette Dupain-Cheng and her classmate, Adrien. When evil arises, Marinette transforms into Ladybug while Adrien transforms into Cat Noir. However, neither know each other's secret identities. Marinette has no idea that her school crush Adrien is Cat Noir, while Cat Noir doesn't know that his crush Ladybug is actually Marinette. Together, they fight to protect Paris against the mysterious villain Hawk Moth._
> 
> Marinette and Adrien's personalities are obviously replaced with Alvin and Jude's. Leia is Alya. School is set during freshman (Jude) and senior (Alvin) year. I left the transformation time limit aspect out (among other things) just because. Akuma (yes, they are actually referred to as akuma) are butterflies that are released into the air when the problem is solved.
> 
> Character design references: [ALVIN](http://45.media.tumblr.com/3fff73802b9801bdc9bdd0ee2e6d2266/tumblr_nv2jolcGTn1szfdb3o4_r1_500.gif) [ONE](http://38.media.tumblr.com/4bbf98e19161cc5e94729ab441bae308/tumblr_nqqm39Jm551tynnrjo4_250.gif) [TWO](http://45.media.tumblr.com/099aafd9ced7d7747f9d5436e8fb7aab/tumblr_nqqm39Jm551tynnrjo3_250.gif)

Another day, another villain of the week, and with a sigh and and a roll of his eyes, Jude — Ladybug, rather — ducks behind the nearest building and adjusts a silver earring before emerging in a skintight red bodysuit, dotted with black spots. He's not too fond of it compared to his usual lab coat and glasses, but he's more or less gotten used to it.

A little while later, _too_ long, Cat Noir leaps down from a roof when Jude is in the middle of a snap pivot.

"Right on time," Ladybug sighs, tone dripping with sarcasm. Cat Noir's response is a familiar crooked grin and a wave.

"Well, looks like you've got it handled, right? Nice job. I guess you're doing just fine without me." An overdramatic sigh. "And here I thought we were a team..."

Well, Cat Noir isn't wrong, but still, Jude rolls his eyes and nods, mouth set in a thin line. When he glances away from Cat Noir, he opens his hand to the akuma before letting it disappear into the cloudless night and dissolve into a dust of sparkles, staring until every speck of light has disappeared.

Cat Noir can't seem to tear his gaze away from that tenderness in Ladybug's eyes. Every time, that look is always there — like little things like that, little things that have never mattered to Cat Noir, are somehow precious to him.

Ladybug doesn't bother turning around when Cat Noir clambers back on all fours. There's nothing else to contribute here.

\---

"Jude," Leia hisses, standing over him and craning her neck to peer at Alvin from behind a tree.

This isn't anything out of the ordinary. It's pretty common, actually. Ever since Alvin just _looked_ at him and gave him the most charming smile he'd ever seen, Jude has been completely and utterly and _hopelessly_ smitten with him. He wasn't used to people smiling at him like that. He grew up with Leia, helped out at his parents' clinic, but... well, not many people know Jude Mathis. They know Ladybug, but Jude Mathis has his nose buried in books all the time and manages to more or less stay out of everyone's way.

It's sort of pathetic to fall so hard for something as simple as a smile, but here he is.

Alvin is tall, much taller than Jude, and it goes without saying that he's undeniably handsome, too. He's easygoing, good-natured, everybody's friend. Always grinning.

How is he supposed to avoid tripping over himself when he meets a guy like that?

The problem is, Jude... definitely isn't the only one. At this rate, he's sort of surprised Alvin doesn't have his own fan club.

"Go ahead and talk to him already!" Leia whispers, snapping Jude out of his thoughts, her lips curved into a stern frown.

"What am I supposed to say? We don't have anything in common — I'm just that honors student, remember? What are we supposed to talk about? Study hall? Come on, Leia. I need to be realistic here."

He can tell Leia's arms are crossed in defiance without even looking at her, but before she has the chance to protest, the bell is ringing.

\---

Next time, Cat Noir beats him there, and as soon as he crawls into vision, he lights up and skitters over, resting a hand on his hip when he comes to a stop by Ladybug's side, tail swishing back and forth. Ladybug raises a thin eyebrow.

"And I'm the one who's never on time?" Cat Noir shakes his head, reprimanding, and leans down on one knee to brush his lips against the back of Ladybug's hand. "Just leave this to me, my lady."

Ladybug doesn't have the chance to remind him to quit calling him that before Cat Noir is parting with a wink and moving to leap from building to building.

The chase doesn't last long — Ladybug and Cat Noir have him pinned down in no time. Ladybug is a lot stronger than he looks — he's much smaller, sure, but he's just as nimble, more flexible than Cat Noir is. He has a tendency to corner enemies before they even realize he's there, and Cat Noir's specialty is keeping them distracted until Ladybug can catch them off guard.

Despite Ladybug's occasional annoyance and Cat Noir's relentless flirting, they balance each other out pretty well — like they were chosen by something or another to be heroes just so they could work together. Fate is an odd thing.

Still, Ladybug is always the one to release the akuma before their time together as heroes is over with until more trouble strikes, and every single time, Cat Noir can't look away.

\---

"Give it up, Leia. He's not going to notice me anytime soon. Hiding out and planning to _assault him_ isn't going to do me any favors."

Leia shakes her head. "Hasn't anyone ever told you you need to relax? Believe it or not, assaulting someone and making a move are not the same thing!"

Jude shakes his head with a sigh, defeated, tugging at his wrist in a nervous gesture that he'd never been able to break. Classes are over, it doesn't look like Ladybug will need to jump into action anytime soon, and he's just about ready to head to the library and spend the rest of the afternoon studying.

"Hmph! Since when is my best friend such a quitter, huh? Didn't I raise you better than that?" She clearly isn't amused. Jude isn't surprised.

"There's a difference between quitting and getting a grip on reality, you know. Besides, what am I supposed to do when he's always surrounded by other people all the time? It's next to impossible to catch him alone, anyway."

She clicks her tongue with disapproval, and then just like that, a light bulb goes off. "Then let's just have a stakeout! Y'know, wait until everyone's gone, and then you'll go in for the kill!" She says this with enough confidence to make it clear that she is totally, 100% serious, that this is her Best Idea Ever.

At this point, Jude has lost count of Leia's Best Ideas Ever.

"Don't be a creep," he sighs. Still, his dazed stare at Alvin's lazy grin lingers a little too long, the melodious sound of his laugh as he humors a pair of girls very obviously flirting with him making Jude's head swim.

Sometimes he can't help but wonder whether there's something hidden behind that grin or not. Maybe it's just his imagination getting the better of him.

\---

"Hurry _up!_ " Ladybug shouts, racing ahead of him without bothering to wait. Cat Noir's ring glints on his finger — a ring worth a lifetime more than the bizarre collection of diamonds Gilland keeps stashed at home.

Sometimes, Cat Noir stops and wonders how the hell he got himself into this mess. He didn't _choose_ to be born with this sort of power. It's not like he's ever particularly cared about keeping everyone in Paris safe. There are more than enough people better suited for the job. Sure, the mask is kind of cool, dark and rogue and all, but...

All things considered, his reasons to keep going are purely selfish. When he's tagging along with Ladybug, he doesn't need to be Alfred Vint Svent — the Alfred Vint Svent who comes home and meets nothing but a cold, calculating gaze, long after he was left behind by almost all the family he had. There's more to it than that, too — Al was the one who screwed up and pushed away the only other person who'd let him in. He doesn't want anything to do with it anymore. He doesn't want to hurt anyone else, and he sure as hell doesn't even want to think about letting anyone _else_ in.

Then there's Alvin, and Cat Noir doesn't need to be Alvin, either, this guy who draws people in with a heart of gold that doesn't exist. Getting along with everyone isn't a problem, sure, but keeping up the facade is tiresome. It isn't _difficult,_ just... Everything is a distraction, and not much else.

When he's Cat Noir, he's free. He's Ladybug's partner, Ladybug's sidekick, a hero with a mask. Whether he chose it or not, there's no denying that he's actually doing something to help people. 

Cat Noir seems like a miracle that he doesn't deserve, but that ring fell into his lap, and damn if he isn't going to use it.

He's lost in thought before he can catch up to him, but before he has the chance, Ladybug reaches back, mutters something under his breath (Cat Noir catches his name, but not much else), grabs Cat Noir's tail, and all but drags him along with him.

"Ouch, _ouch,_ watch the tail, would you? Jeez. Take it down a notch." 

Ladybug pulls his tail harder.

"Really, you can drag me around all you'd like." Cat Noir winks even knowing that he can't see it, and Cat Noir swears he can see Ladybug's ears turning pink.

He can't hold back a wolfish laugh. Looks like it's about time to throw themselves into their next adventure.

\---

Afterward, Ladybug sinks down into the grass, beads of sweat clinging to his forehead. Cat Noir collapses down beside him, hip to hip. Ladybug doesn't budge.

"We make a pretty good team, huh?" Ladybug turns to him and smiles. Kind. Honest. When all that chaos is over, it's like all that tension mid-battle dissipates into an easygoing sort of confidence.

Cat Noir's not sure he's ever seen a smile like that. It knocks the wind out of him, and it takes a good ten seconds to come up with a response, but then Ladybug is raising up a curled, calloused fist in the air to meet his. The sunset is dipping behind them, illuminating everything about Ladybug's soft expression — the wisps of hair in his face, the flush of exertion coloring his cheeks.

Cat Noir is flirtatious, sure — Ladybug is cute, _too_ cute, and he's always too easy to get a rise out of, too — but he'd never taken the time to notice just how amber Ladybug's eyes are. 

"... Only because I have a pretty good sidekick." Cat Noir chuckles and reaches to bump his fist with a chuckle before lying back, spreading his arms out wide and allowing his eyes to slip shut. He hears a rustle in the grass when Ladybug breathes out and sprawls out himself.

This is... Well, this is alright. This is more than alright.

\---

The next time Jude happens to pass by, Alvin stops and glances down at him. He isn't sure what, exactly, caught his attention today of all days, but there's a huge stack of textbooks in his hands that look like they're going to topple over at any second, and Jude is already unsteady on his feet. His lab coat is getting wrinkled, the collar sliding down a shoulder.

"Need help?" Alvin doesn't even hesitate, and he leans in and takes half the pile into his arms before Jude can even stutter out a response. There's a brilliant blush blooming on his cheeks, spreading all the way down his exposed neck.

Jude looks absolutely hopeless, like there are words caught in his throat that just won't come out. It looks like he's about to raise his hands in protest until he looks down makes the astute observation that his hands are still. Full.

"Um," Jude says eloquently.

"Anytime," Alvin replies with a teasing grin, falling into step beside him.

Amber. That same shade of amber.

Huh. Interesting.

\---

"And I didn't even have to pull the tail this time." Ladybug grins triumphantly, hands on his hips. The akuma was released, the sky is back to normal, and everything is all well and good. Paris back in balance yet again. Another day, another success.

Cat Noir narrows his eyes underneath his mask before tossing an arm over Ladybug's small shoulders and drawing him closer. Ladybug stiffens, but he doesn't make a move to squirm away from his grip. He never has.

"Y'know, like I said, I'll let you pull the tail whenever you want to," Cat Noir murmurs against the shell of his ear, his voice low in his throat. A shiver runs down Ladybug's spine, goosebumps rising up on his arms and prickling his skin.

And just like that, Ladybug shoves him away in a huff, more embarrassed than irritated, and storms off. Cat Noir's smirk is all too pleased.

\---

When Jude brushes past Alvin again — trying very, very hard not to look at him, because hell, he's in trouble — Alvin stops Jude with a hand on his shoulder. Jude freezes.

Alvin is thrusting two small, pink hairpins into his hands before he can even speak. Alvin's hand grasps his, and even something so minuscule — something as small as that, something that might have been purely unintentional, even — gives Jude butterflies in his stomach. He thinks about the akuma, and what horrors they wreak onto more or less innocent people.

This is different. These butterflies are different. He isn't quite sure how he feels about them.

The only thing Jude can do is look up at him with wide, curious eyes, lips parted in surprise. Alvin clears his throat.

"Your bangs." Alvin rubs the back of his neck and shifts side to side, unable to meet Jude's gaze. "They're always in your eyes. Maybe you'll be able to look down and see those books you're carrying next time. They're taller than _you._ "

Alvin's always paying attention to his eyes, lately. 

And just like that he's heading off again, tossing a hand up over his shoulder in a parting wave. Jude stares at his retreating back before looking down at the little pink barrettes that had been pressed into his palms. A smile that's giddier than it should be spreads across his face before he clips his bangs up, adjusting the glasses sitting on the bridge of his nose afterward. Alvin was right — his bangs _did_ get in the way. He'd gotten so used to it he'd never paid much attention.

Jude almost never takes those hairpins off. Not unless he transforms.

\---

Ladybug never realized just how good Cat Noir looks in skintight black leather. Why hadn't he paid attention sooner? It doesn't leave much to the imagination. His broad back and the shift of his muscles, his arms, his... his _thighs,_ his everything. Looking at him was never this distracting before.

He realizes he reminds him of Alvin.

"I have to go," Ladybug stutters. It's a good thing he's perfected his snap pivot.

\---

The next time Jude sees Alvin, he's sitting cross-legged on a bench near the statue, paging through a newspaper with the headline _Ladybug and Cat Noir Save the City Yet Again_ splashed across the front page in huge letters. Leia is leaning over his shoulder, and oh my God, what is she _doing,_ and before Jude can open his mouth to ask, Alvin is beckoning him over. Leia's eyes are all but sparkling.

Jude's heart just about leaps out of his chest when Leia waves around a set of four movie tickets with a smirk.

"I just happened to have extra," she lies. Jude knows that look better than anyone else. That grin quirking her lips is positively wicked. "So I thought I'd invite you and Alvin along! I managed to convince Agria, too. So? What do you say?"

Jude looks at Alvin. Looks at Leia. Looks at Alvin again.

Alvin is smiling.

"Yeah," Jude murmurs, tugging at a lock of his hair. "That. That sounds great, as long as it's alright with..."

"I'll swing by around six, then," Alvin interrupts. "Don't worry — Leia already gave me your address and cell number."

Jude can't do anything but offer him a mindless nod.

\---

Alvin isn't dressed up when he meets him. Whether he's at school or not, Jude has only seen him wearing what he can only assume is designer brand. Just about everyone in Paris knows that the Svents aren't short on cash.

As big as his jacket is and as gaudy as that scarf is, Jude is still staring. Broad. His back is so broad. Looking this good should be a _crime._

It's next to impossible to tear his gaze away.

"Alright. Let's do this, then." Alvin winks like he can see right through him.

Jude doesn't have any objections to that. All nervousness aside, he might as well be walking on air.

\---

Five minutes in, it's almost as if Jude has known Alvin for ages, like he wasn't just a stranger at school he'd been blushing at, but... but someone _else._

Jude's not entirely sure when the gears in his head started turning, but maybe they've been turning for longer than he'd realized.

He'll figure it out in due time. All he can say is that he isn't worried about it.

\---

There's an unusual stretch of time between the — the _date,_ was it a date? Leia and Agria were there too, it wasn't a date, was it? — and the next mission. Cat Noir is on top of his game, pinning the target down before Ladybug even has a chance to react. Ladybug doesn't know what changed, but the last thing he's planning on doing is complaining about it. The quicker the situation is handled, the better.

"Gotcha," Cat Noir smiles, tying the perpetrator's hands behind his back.

When the akuma dissolves, Ladybug can't hide the pleased laugh that escapes. "Alright, alright, I admit it. I'm impressed."

Before Cat Noir can come up with his usual witty response, Ladybug leans in with a cheeky grin and gives a black ear a playful tug. Cat Noir's tail curls behind his back, his eyes slip shut, he tilts his head into the touch, and... 

And did he just.

Nope. He did. That was definitely a purr. Ladybug blinks. He does't know why his cheeks are getting warm.

"Wait. Wait." Ladybug is wide-eyed. So is Cat Noir. "Is that something you _do?_ "

"I," Cat Noir starts, smooth and eloquent. He stops there, but when Ladybug is still staring, he just heaves a sigh.

"Uh. Well. Maybe? I mean... What did you expect? I'm _Cat_ Noir for a reason, right? C'mon, don't read too much into it." 

There's a pause as Ladybug seems to ponder this information, thoroughly amused, and then he does it again, lips already curving into a mischievous grin. He's beaming like he's just discovered every secret to the universe there is, everything he ever needed to know to be thoroughly satisfied.

Ladybug cards a hand through Cat Noir's hair to push his bangs back, pulls at his ear again, and, with only a second of hesitation, brushes the tips of his fingers over the end of Cat Noir's tail. The shade of red blooming on Cat Noir's face is — well, to say it's interesting would be a massive understatement. There's another pleased hum, low in his throat, and then.

And then he just _bolts._ Like a cat. All Ladybug can do is laugh.

Perhaps Alvin isn't as smooth as he thought.

\---

"You haven't pestered Alvin in awhile," Leia points out one dreary afternoon, hanging upside down on Jude's bed and pretending to study. Jude gave up on asking her to stop dropping by uninvited years ago. It's just another part of reality, and having Leia there with him is a reality that he's never actually minded, whether he pretends to or not. They're best friends for a reason.

"Yeah," Jude muses, staring up at the ceiling. His thoughts drift to Cat Noir. His lazy smile, his lidded eyes underneath that dark mask, his arm wrapping around Jude's middle like it belongs there, the deep sound of his voice. Things a little less innocent, too — the way that black leather clings to his skin, his muscles, his accentuated —

"Jude! Earth to Jude Mathis!" Leia snaps, tapping a pen on some sort of horoscope survey. Her expression only softens into a smile when Jude turns to look at her. "Did something happen? Don't leave me out of the loop!"

Jude turns to meet her questioning gaze. She's sitting up now, squinting at him with suspicion.

"Leia. I think I'm ready to talk to him. I think I can do this."

She drops what she was doing before Jude has time to even process her arms being thrown around his neck, her excited shriek, and Jude can't help but return the smile and squeeze her right back. Leia's excitement has always been contagious.

"When? When are you gonna tell him? Can I come? Or are you going to write him a letter and, like, slip it into his locker? Am I invited to your wedding?" She's bouncing up and down, shaking his shoulders, eyes so bright they light up the room. Jude's a lot more bashful than she is, but...

"I think you're getting just a little ahead of yourself, but all I can say is that I'll tell him soon. I promise."

Judging by Leia's widening smile, that's good enough for her. Jude always keeps his promises.

\---

"So, what did you call me up here for? I didn't hear about any sort of incident we had to take care of." Nobody had called for them, no random explosions, no bizarre acts of terror.

Cat Noir tilts his head before a slow smile crosses his lips. "What? Did you finally give in to my irresistible advances? Face it, Ladybug. Nobody is able to resist the mysterious entity that is Cat Noir."

Ladybug stifles a laugh with the back of his hand, and Cat Noir raises an eyebrow, smile dissipating into confusion.

"Cut the act, Alvin," Jude says.

"What act —"

Oh.

_Oh._

Alvin stares. And stares. And stares some more. At the very least, Jude has never been anything but patient. He doesn't stop smiling.

"Jude."

This time it's Jude's turn to go still.

"What?" Alvin adds, incredulous, shaking his head at Jude's parted lips and raking a hand though his hair. "Did you seriously think I hadn't managed to put the pieces together, too? Sure, it took awhile, but when you get to know a person — when you realize you _care_ about that person — well, then there's not much more to do than connect the dots, right?"

That, and he's never seen that shade of amber before. Jude doesn't need to know that, though.

Jude isn't even blinking. How... How had he never even once considered this possibility? The possibility that Alvin had gone and figured it out, too?

"Oh."

Cat Noir — no, _Alvin,_ it's Alvin, he's _Alvin_ — meets his wide-eyed gaze with his usual smile, like nothing has changed at all.

Maybe nothing has. Maybe, through his time with Cat Noir, he'd come to know the real Alvin. Maybe he'd even come to like him more than the Alvin that pulled up to school in a limo every morning.

"So, what do you say?" Jude's lips slip into a small smile, and he moves toward Alvin, looping his arms around his neck and looking up at him through long lashes.

"What do I say?" Alvin swallows thickly. He doesn't know how to answer that.

But after a pause, he settles on, "... I say we're both complete and utter idiots." Alvin sighs, shaking his head with remorse. "Could've saved us some time if we didn't have those damn masks on."

Jude laughs, a real laugh, and before Alvin can do anything else, Jude is leaning in, standing on his tiptoes, and pressing their lips together.

Fate is an odd thing.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't put a whole lot of thought into the small details, but Miraculous Ladybug is a cute and harmless cartoon that'll distract you for 21 minutes a week. It's pretty anime-inspired considering it's a collab, and as of right now, new episodes are released weekly in Korean with English subs. Go check it out!


End file.
